Connection Corner is back, Half term days out & Medal Success!

Welcome to the Third Year Blog!

And here we are in the final half term of the year!

The Third Year Blog spent most of the half term trying to avoid getting sunburnt whilst also coming to terms with the continued lack of The Hampton Ducklings^TM. Now, having returned to School, the Third Year Blog is remaining stoic in the face of the ducklingless cloisters. So, nothing more about the ducklings. An absence of commentary about the absence of ducklings. Just duckling free emptiness….

Of course, while the Third Year Blog mopes, the Third Year have returned to School brimming with all kinds of energy.

Lively and unpretentious energy (obvs).

‘Is it summer uniform?’ (no) energy.

‘What are the grade boundaries?’ energy.

‘How long will Mr Knibbs talk about Arsenal winning the League in the first assembly we have?’ energy.

‘I know I shouldn’t take my shoes off on the school fields at lunch, but hopefully the teachers won’t see us’ (they will) energy.

Unfortunately for the Third Year Blog, there has been less ‘what can I write for the Third Year Blog?’ energy, meaning that the Third Year Blog feels a little less full than it sometimes does.

So, as a reminder, if you have anything that you have achieved or enjoyed, whether it is inside School or outside of School, please do email Mr Green (tj.green@hamptonschool.org.uk) with a short report.

Having said all this, while there is not as much as there sometimes is, there are still reports on both a national rowing medal and the best sandwich ever eaten. Elite.

Heads of Year Message

Well done to all J14 rowers for their excellent efforts at the National Schools Regatta on Friday 22 May. We hope that everyone enjoyed the half term break thereafter.

Well done to everyone for completing Third Year assessments the week before half term (and earlier this week for some). Pupils will have received most of their assessment results this week and can inform parents themselves. Parents will receive official notification of their son’s assessment grades at the end of term in the Summer Report.

We hope that everyone makes the most of the remaining weeks of term. Please throw yourselves into the activities on offer and keep supporting one another with kindness right until the end of term. As always, do reach out to us or your Form Tutors if you are having any difficulties.

Arrangements for return of current laptop and collection of new laptops for all Third Year pupils

Current laptop, charging cable and stylus pen to be returned to IT staff on Monday 15 June (Forms 3A-E) and Tuesday 16 June (Forms 3F-J) over the lunch break. This will take place in the Atrium.
Please note, that in the event of any items being lost or damaged (particularly if this is not the first time that damage has occurred), the cost of repair or replacement will be charged accordingly.
If you are unable to collect the laptop during the dates and times listed above, you may collect it from the IT Office (Room F27) later.
Pupils will receive their new laptop (with setup guide), charger, and stylus at the same time.
The new laptop should be setup that evening and brought into School for use in lessons from the next day. No attempts should be made to configure the laptop at School.
The IT department will offer drop-in sessions during the lunch breaks in the Lecture Theatre on Thursday 18 June.
Please note that the laptop comes in a box with instructions, charging cables, etc. The box is unlikely to fit in a packed school bag and it is preferable to keep all elements together until the set up at home. For safety reasons, we advise all pupils to avoid carrying the new IT equipment so that it is visible on their journey home from School. As such, we strongly recommend that all pupils bring a separate bag to carry the new IT equipment home in.

Prior to attending

Pupils must make sure that all documents in the Documents folder and on the Desktop are synchronised with OneDrive (the cloud icon in the Task Bar should be blue. If there is a red cross on it, this indicates a synchronisation issue). They should also ensure they have synced their Class Notebooks.
If there is any uncertainty, please see the IT department prior to Monday, 15 June.

Should you have any questions or concerns about the school IT provision, please contact helpdesk@hamptonschool.org.uk.

Absences

If your child will be absent from School for any reason, please complete the absence reporting form, which can be found on My School Portal, on every morning of your child’s absence. For absences other than illness e.g. if a pupil has a dental or medical appointment during School hours, notice of this should be given in advance. For planned absences, please contact Heads of Year requesting the absence with as much notice as possible.

We hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr T Rigby & Mr H Moore

Medal Success

As you know, Hamptonians are able to start rowing in the Third Year. Today, we hear from one of the rowers about the general experience of taking part in the sport, as well as a report on the U14A team boat and how they got on in the National Schools’ Regatta:

Rowing is a rare sport option which isn’t offered in all schools, and this is one of the great unique opportunities at Hampton. I started rowing this year and it has been a very enjoyable experience. Being on the water with other Hamptonians is a great way to make new connections and get to know others. There are lots of chances to take part in races, whether it’s between other schoolmates or against other schools. I recommend trying out rowing if you haven’t yet as it is a great sport.

By Tanish K (3G)

But what of the regatta?

Matthew T (3G) gives us his experience:

Last Friday, me and 26 other Third Year rowers participated in National Schools’ Regatta at Dorney Lake, home of rowing at the 2012 Olympics. There was some excellent rowing on display.

The format of the race is one where each crew will do a time trial early in the morning to decide which final they will get into, with only the A final of each category having a shot at medals. This means that this early part of the day is often called the hardest race of the day as messing it up can have dire consequences.

The C boat progressed to the C final of the Second boat category, with the B boat getting to the A final of the same category. Finally, the A boat made it to the A final, going on to become bronze medallists.

Overall, it was a great day out, and we are all thrilled about the results. All of this means that it all looks promising for the Star Regatta on the Great River Ouse in Bedford this weekend and we can’t wait to get out on the river again!

Half Term Days out

During the half term I travelled up to London Bridge and went to Borough Market; if you haven’t visited the area yet I completely recommend the culinary experience, there’s everything food related from seafood paella to chocolate covered strawberries!

The highlight of my day was ‘The Best One’ sandwich which I got from The Black Pig; it was all that I came for and all that I left with. The renowned meal consisted of a ten hour slow roasted pulled pork shoulder, apple and fennel slaw, salsa verde, a honey-truffle parmesan mayonnaise and, to top it off, the crispy ciabatta was drowned with mountains of aged parmesan cheese. It was undeniably the best sandwich I have had but, unfortunately, I could not finish the masterpiece.

In the heart of the market, directly beath the train tracks, I found Hobb’s Barbers – an old school, vintage barbershop which is rated one of the top three best barbers in London. With its retro room décor of Supreme skate decks, a Union Jack on the roof, David Bowie posters on the wall and the floor designed to have the appearance of a train station, I was sure to save the name on my phone. It’s not just the food aspect of Borough Market I’ll be returning for!

By Chester F (3G)

Two Truths and a Lie

Last week we had the illustrious Maths teacher, Mr Lee, as our contributor.

These were his claims:

Mr Lee once won a ballroom dancing contest
Mr Lee is scared of heights
Mr Lee has seen the band Bon Jovi perform live on five separate occasions

You only have to watch Mr Lee walk (sashay?) down the corridors to know that the idea that he won a ballroom dancing contest is very very plausible. Contrastingly, it seems very unlikely that Mr Lee (who is about 7 foot 10 inches tall) would be scared of heights bearing in mind how high up his head actually is all the time – but, in actual fact, he IS scared of heights. Which means that he hasn’t been to see Bon Jovi perform on five separate occasions – it’s actually only three times.

This week, Mr Schurch steps into the lying booth, where he seems strangely comfortable. Let’s see what he has to offer us:

Mr Schurch competed in Japan at a World Karate Championships; winning a silver medal
When teaching in Kenya, Mr Schurch once protected a group of pupils from a lion
Mr Schurch crashed into a wall while cycling down the steepest hill in Britain

Can any of these things be true?